For the last five decades at least one of the major broadcast networks has aired a block of children's cartoons on Saturday morning. From Scooby Doo in the 1960's to Transformers, Thundercats and Ninja Turtles in the 80's to Recess, Pokemon and Yugio in the 90's and 2000's generations of American children have tuned in on Saturday morning to enjoy their favorite shows. On Saturday September 27th that came to an end.

The CW'S Vortex programming block, the last block of Saturday morning cartoons on a traditional network aired for the final time this past Saturday. The the lone holdout on a format that has been steadily disappearing over the last few decades finally pulled the plug on the traditional cartoon block opting to air live action educational programming instead. Citing several reasons such as program mandates, falling viewership and inability to compete with cable networks such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, the CW made the decision to end their Saturday morning cartoon block, closing the book on a tradition that spans multiple generations and over 5 decades. With an overwhelming number of U.S. households holding cable subscriptions and having access to 24/7 cartoon channels, the truth is the traditional Sat morning children's block is obsolete. Still as someone who has fond memories of the tradition I find the end of the saga sad. What is your reaction to the news and what are some of your Saturday morning cartoon stories.

The best of the 70s: (IMO) Fat Albert, The Pink Panther, Scooby-Doo, Star Trek, Tarzan and the Super 7. The Super 7 was on CBS, and it included the Dark Knight. Tarzan and Batman were exceptionally animated.

The worst of the 70s: (the new) Flintstones, Grape Ape, Inch-High Private Eye, (the new) Tom & Jerry Show, Superfriends. Perhaps Croft productions had something to do with the decline of Saturday mornings; that's an interesting observation.

The 80s weren't much better. The Smurfs were OK, but the new Alvin and the Chipmunks stank. Didn't get into the Transformers; I was too old for that. At some point in the latter 80s, NBC decided to totally throw away cartoons altogether. A cost saving move, I guess, but there was plenty of trash on primetime to throw away instead. Around 1990, after at least some 25 years on CBS, the Looney Tunes were ported over to ABC briefly before getting pulled off network rotation.

But, NBC recently brought back childrens programming including some cartoons, just as CBS takes its 'toons off the air. ABC pulled its remaining animated shows about 4 years ago. I assume too much competion (Web, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon) was pulling away viewers.

I also remember the likes of Mighty Mouse, Bugs Bunny/ Roadrunner, The Archies, Underdog, Space Ghost, King Kong animated, Felix the Cat, Casper, and the Herculoids, among others. Ah, the joys of childhood.

I also remember the likes of Mighty Mouse, Bugs Bunny/ Roadrunner, The Archies, Underdog, Space Ghost, King Kong animated, Felix the Cat, Casper, and the Herculoids, among others. Ah, the joys of childhood.

For the last five decades at least one of the major broadcast networks has aired a block of children's cartoons on Saturday morning. From Scooby Doo in the 1960's to Transformers, Thundercats and Ninja Turtles in the 80's to Recess, Pokemon and Yugio in the 90's and 2000's generations of American children have tuned in on Saturday morning to enjoy their favorite shows. On Saturday September 27th that came to an end.

The CW'S Vortex programming block, the last block of Saturday morning cartoons on a traditional network aired for the final time this past Saturday. The the lone holdout on a format that has been steadily disappearing over the last few decades finally pulled the plug on the traditional cartoon block opting to air live action educational programming instead. Citing several reasons such as program mandates, falling viewership and inability to compete with cable networks such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, the CW made the decision to end their Saturday morning cartoon block, closing the book on a tradition that spans multiple generations and over 5 decades. With an overwhelming number of U.S. households holding cable subscriptions and having access to 24/7 cartoon channels, the truth is the traditional Sat morning children's block is obsolete. Still as someone who has fond memories of the tradition I find the end of the saga sad. What is your reaction to the news and what are some of your Saturday morning cartoon stories.

I have this great memory (from about 7 or 8 years old) of sitting on my dads recliner with a bowl of cereal, the sun shining through the window warming my leg and Alvin and The Chipmunks on the T.V.

I'd like to add to the list in no particular decade or channel (local or national): Fantastic Voyage, Fantastic Four, Skyhawks, Hot Wheels, Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down?, Tom of T.H.U.M.B, Cool McCool, Hector Heathcoat, Josie and the Pussycats (In Outer Space too), The Funky Phantom, Super Six, The Mighty Heroes, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Superman/Aquaman Adventure Hour, Shazam! (the genie), Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles, Thunderbirds, Fireball XL-5, Thundar the Barbarian, Chattanooga Cats, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Wacky Races, Mighty Orbots, Galaxy High, The Real Ghostbusters, Spiderman, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio,........man there was just so much to watch back then!!

G.I. Joe, Voltron, Thundercats were mostly shown during the weekdays after or before school, depending on where you lived, if I recall. Robotech, Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, Ducktales, Transformers, Jem and the Holograms and many more were among this group.

At any rate, I was all over Rocky and Bullwinkle, Voltron and Thundercats (which did have a Saturday slot, later moving to afternoons, along with Scooby Doo and Flintstones reruns. Occasionally, I would catch episodes of GI Joe.There was also shows like Justice League, He-Man and the Ninja Turtles.

Of course, in High School, I worked for a latch key program where we would let some of the kids watch the afternoon Disney block as a reward for good behavior. That included Chip and Dale, Ducktales, Talespin, Darkwing Duck and Inspector Gadget.

Some of these might have been afternoon or prime time instead of Saturday mornings--those shows were on a long time ago--most in the 1960s when I was the appropriate demographic for viewing such content.

Some of these might have been afternoon or prime time instead of Saturday mornings--those shows were on a long time ago--most in the 1960s when I was the appropriate demographic for viewing such content.

Astro Boy, as you fly,
Strange new worlds you will spy,
Atom celled, jet propelled,
Fighting monsters high in the sky!
Astro Boy, there you go,
Will you find friend or foe?
Cosmic Ranger, laugh at danger,
Everything is go Astro Boy!
Crowds will cheer you, you’re a hero,
As you go, go, go Astro Boy!

Godzilla even had his own Saturday morning cartoon. You had a group of scientists on a boat in the ocean travelling the world, and monsters always seemed to show up. But the leader could press a button on his belt to summon Godzilla to fight, or Godzooky (Godzilla's much smaller cousin) could summon him with a howl.

It just lasted two seasons (1978-79), but it was a pretty cool cartoon.

I remember The Beatles cartoon. The Osmonds, The already mentioned Jackson 5. Later came The Brady Kids, Happy Days and Lavern and Shirly (in the armed forces with a pig for a sergeant!). Other tv related animated shows I remember: Gilligan's Planet, My Favorite Martian, I Dream of Jeannie. Were there others?

LOS ANGELES — Archie Andrews will die taking a bullet for his gay best friend.

The famous freckle-faced comic book icon is meeting his demise in Wednesday's installment of "Life with Archie" when he intervenes in an assassination attempt on Kevin Keller, Archie Comics' first openly gay character......
"The way in which Archie dies is everything that you would expect of Archie," said Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO. " He dies heroically. He dies selflessly. He dies in the manner that epitomizes not only the best of Riverdale but the best of all of us. He dies heroically. He dies selflessly. He dies in the manner that epitomizes not only the best of Riverdale but the best of all of us. It's what Archie has come to represent over the past almost 75 years."

& A few Weeks Ago :

"Stan Goldberg, who drew Archie comics for more than 40 years, died on Sunday at a hospice in " the Bronx. He was 82.
He had a stroke on July 24, said his son Bennett, who confirmed the death.

Mr. Goldberg was a freelancer for Marvel Comics during the 1960s, working closely with giants of the field like Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.

I remember The Beatles cartoon. The Osmonds, The already mentioned Jackson 5. Later came The Brady Kids, Happy Days and Lavern and Shirly (in the armed forces with a pig for a sergeant!). Other tv related animated shows I remember: Gilligan's Planet, My Favorite Martian, I Dream of Jeannie. Were there others?

Ben, a character from The Waltons, and Star Trek (featuring the original crew; don't know about their voices, though).

I remember The Beatles cartoon. The Osmonds, The already mentioned Jackson 5. Later came The Brady Kids, Happy Days and Lavern and Shirly (in the armed forces with a pig for a sergeant!). Other tv related animated shows I remember: Gilligan's Planet, My Favorite Martian, I Dream of Jeannie. Were there others?

There was also The Partridge Family 2200AD, Emergency+4 (4 kids joing the 2 guys from the live action show), New Adventures of Gilligan's Island-mid 70s before the late 80s Gilligan's Planet, Lassie's Rescue Rangers, The Dukes (of Hazzard), and Mork and Mindy.
Movie spin offs, Planet of the Apes, Teen Wolf, Back to the Future, Ace Venture Pet Detective, video game tie ins, PAC Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair. The Pink Panther theatrical shorts followed by newly produced episodes ran for several years on NBC.

Awesome recollections by all. The producers had so little money to make these shows back then, and it truly is a miracle that many of their efforts- however flawed, entertained us and left behind such fond memories.

I remember The Beatles cartoon. The Osmonds, The already mentioned Jackson 5. Later came The Brady Kids, Happy Days and Lavern and Shirly (in the armed forces with a pig for a sergeant!). Other tv related animated shows I remember: Gilligan's Planet, My Favorite Martian, I Dream of Jeannie. Were there others?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westly-C

There was also The Partridge Family 2200AD, Emergency+4 (4 kids joing the 2 guys from the live action show), New Adventures of Gilligan's Island-mid 70s before the late 80s Gilligan's Planet, Lassie's Rescue Rangers, The Dukes (of Hazzard), and Mork and Mindy.
Movie spin offs, Planet of the Apes, Teen Wolf, Back to the Future, Ace Venture Pet Detective, video game tie ins, PAC Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair. The Pink Panther theatrical shorts followed by newly produced episodes ran for several years on NBC.

Awesome recollections by all. The producers had so little money to make these shows back then, and it truly is a miracle that many of their efforts- however flawed, entertained us and left behind such fond memories.

Heck, even Punky Brewster had a cartoon series for a while.

I do remember watching The Jackson 5. That was some trippy stuff during the music segments. The only episode I remember from Dukes of Hazzard was when the call the Queen to get them out of jail and it works because...you know...they're Dukes, of course.

I also remember watching picture pages and Cosby Kids with Bill Cosby and later in the afternoons "The Joy of Painting" with Bob Ross would come on. I loved those happy little trees....